Today, older first-time parents are very common. Many women have their first child after 40 years of age. About 25% of all women in California have their first birth at an age over 35. This trend is seen all over the world. Many men at the age of 50-65 are fathering new babies. Many elderly people, such as grandparents, are childcare givers to their grandchildren. As soon as a small baby becomes mobile, such as crawling, standing, cruising and walking, the parents or attendants can expect a lot of work. Very often a small baby will trip and fall while learning to stand or walk. At those times, an older parent will have a very difficult time bending over, as many have by then experienced back injuries, back pain, or knee pain before having a child. Back pain and tiredness are common complaints by parents during the period when their children learn to walk.
Normal infants learn to walk as early as 6-7 months and as late as 14-16 months. During this period of time, a caregiver spends between 30 min per day to 3-4 hours per day assisting the baby with walking. Due to the significant height difference between a small child and his or her attendant, it is natural for the attendant to bend forward the upper-body to reach a small child with both arms and hands. Thus, this small child's arms or under arms are held by the attendant's hands. In other words, to be able to reach a small child, the attendant bends her/his back to hold the small child's arms when the child stands or walks. This is an extremely difficult position for many people, especially for an older person, a tall person or a person who has back problems. More importantly, when the child's arms are held by the attendant, the infant's arms and hands cannot move freely and naturally, so that the child is not able to touch, grasp, or play with objects as he or she desires. Also, the attendant's both hands are not free in this back bending position. Accidentally, many small children's arms or shoulders have been injured or twisted from sudden lifting or pulling because their attendants could not coordinate with the baby's movement.
Obviously, keeping a baby's hands free during walking exercise is very important in many ways: 1) it allows the baby to have good coordination between the body and hands, so that the baby can be in a natural physical position as much as possible during practicing walk; 2) most important, it helps to stimulate small babies brain development because it provides a great opportunity for a baby to receive information through hands. As we know, the learning process at this age relies mostly on hand touching. During the first three years of an infant's development, the brain develops most significantly in mass and in establishing synapses. It would be a great opportunity to receive a large amount of stimulations if a baby can go any place where a grown-up goes, such as walking into elevators, climbing up stairs, and walking on grass, pavement, shores of lakes or rivers, or anywhere. The more information a baby obtains, the more synapses can be developed, and the more intelligent a baby can become, and the earlier a baby can become independent. Learning how to step as well as obtaining information through this process will stimulate the child's brain development, which benefits both motor functions as well as intellectual development. Generally, due to safety concerns, most parents will not bring their babies to many places until their children reach a certain age. This present invention will provide a useful device to help save a lot of physical effort, avoid emotional stress and ease the burden of parenting. It helps stimulate small babies during the early development stage and explore the world safely.
The earliest infant-walking aid invention was made as early as 1913. U.S. However, effective baby walking aids for training a small baby to walk are still lacking in the market. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,193,374 granted in 1916, discloses a walking harness. This harness uses two parallel straps to surround the wearer's upper body. The hand-holding straps are narrowed straps that form a loop structure by connecting the ends. The harness is attached to the center back of the wearer. This design is very similar to most baby walking safety harnesses on the market today. The harness is normally operated by a single hand. The harness may be useful for keeping a toddler or older child nearby, but it is not a proper device to train a small baby to walk. When a baby is lifted at the center of the back, the baby can easily become out of balance and falls.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,749,999 helps an adult assist a small baby to learn how to walk. It was developed as a garment-like apparatus that is worn by a baby. Two straps extend from the back of the shoulder to be held by a caregiver's hands. There are many disadvantages in this prior art device: the hand straps are very narrow straps that provide no protection to the wearer. When the straps are pulled, the front anterior part of the apparatus could be pulled up toward the wearer's neck, and may become a choking hazard. No buckles were available at that time, and it seems difficult to put on or take off this apparatus. The wearer can become very hot when used during the summer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,287 discloses a system in which two solid wood bars are provided for the caregiver and the baby to hold onto. The baby has to use his/her hands to hold onto the wooden bars, and therefore does not get his/her hands free. This prior art reference discloses a strap system used to hold on the baby's bottom, which does not seem to be convenient for a small baby when a baby starts to walk. It is always important for a baby that there is no obstacle below the waist and no other obstacle stretching between the legs. In addition, the solid rigid bar system is not as convenient as foldable clothes for storage and transportation.
The most recent U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,902, discloses a design similar to the design described in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,749,999, but adding a seat part for holding the wearer's bottom. The tensions at the baby's bottom and legs create an unnatural force by the infant when the harness is in use. Plus, this suit-like garment limits the time that it can be used. It may work for smaller or younger babies, and definitely not good for a larger or older babies. The hand leashes are thin, offer no protection and provide less control to the wearers. A baby wearing such a harness is like a baby in a suit or in a net. It may be too hot for a baby to use during summer and is not easy to put on or remove.
Baby walkers help a baby learn to walk. A baby walker has a seat and wheels that allow a baby to sit inside surrounded by a frame. The wheels allow a baby to walk around. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,052 shows a wheeled support structure. After baby walkers become popular several years ago, many babies fell from the stairs in these walkers and became seriously injured. Now, these wheeled walkers are considered dangerous for infants and have been taken off the market. In addition, even before they are able to walk independently, many small babies have strong desire to walk and play in the playground like the big kids do. They also desire to experience with their attendants in going into elevators, on stairs, through doors, and on pavement or grass. However, all of these wheeled devices for assisting a baby walk cannot fulfill these needs.
Currently, there are many types of baby safety walking harnesses in the market, which are intended for toddlers who are able to walk already. They are used as restraining devices for keeping the kids nearby and to avoid being lost in the crowd or on the street. Most of the walking harnesses are made from webbing straps and have a long leash attached on the center back; some are designed to attach to the both sides of under-arms. They are not designed or cannot be used to assist an infant to learn how to walk.